The Government of Russia has announced a contribution of $3 million (KSh 300 million) to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to support Kenya’s response to the worst desert locust invasion to affect that East African country in over 70 years.

FAO Director-General QU Dongyu has thanked the Russian Federation for boosting the fight against the desert locust outbreak in East Africa by making a $10 million contribution to support FAO operations in Ethiopia, Kenya, South Sudan and Uganda.

FAO Director-General QU Dongyu has welcomed a $10 million donation from Mastercard Foundation to step up the fight against the desert locust outbreak in East Africa amid concern about an imminent upsurge in numbers. 

An estimated one million people in Ethiopia are in need of emergency food assistance due to the ongoing desert locust invasion, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has warned.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN is continuing its efforts to contain the desert locust upsurge in East Africa despite restrictions on the movement of personnel and equipment resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

East Africa is going through a massive desert locust infestation that’s stripping farming families of food and income and threatening the food security of millions throughout the region.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) today began training 300 National Youth Service (NYS) trainees at as part of its action plan aimed at boosting the Government of Kenya’s (GoK) ground surveillance on desert locusts.

FAO has thanked the government of Sweden for its pledge of $4 million to combat the swarms of crop-devouring desert locusts in East Africa and provide livelihoods support to help affected families weather the crisis.

With funding support from the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (UN CERF) the United Kingdom's Department for International Development (UK DFID), MasterCard, the European Commission’s Directorate General International Cooperation and Development (DEVCO), and United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has leased two aircraft and two helicopters to scale up the aerial desert locust control operations in Ethiopia.

While global attention has focused on the swarms of Desert Locusts attacking crops in East Africa, a number of other countries and regions are also confronting serious food security threats and require support, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization.